Who was the better character in the films?

[manephelien]

Originally Posted by paranoid marvin

I wouldn't trust either with my Ring though...

Ditto, but trusting someone with the ring doesn't necessarily make the trusted one interesting.

[paranoid marvin]

It would be interesting to see what would have happened if Boromir had been given the Ring - or even Gandalf for that matter

Such a noble and proud man is boromir , but the glimpse we get of his darker side when confronting Frodo is quite scary. Yet he does actually realise his mistake , and it's quite heartbreaking to see his realisation of what he had done - would he have again adopted such sinister traits? I guess we'll never know

On the other hand Gandalf says it would be dangerous for him to have the One Ring , as does Galadriel - yet both have the minor Rings. Whilst Galadriel has used hers to help preserve and protect her home , we see no indication of Gandalf using his , even in his most dire perils with the Balrog in Mordor or the Witch King at Minas Tirith. Under what circumstances WOULD he have used his lesser ring?

One other interesting point is what does the One Ring actually DO? What is it capable of ? The only things it seems to do to Frodo and Gollum is make thm invisible , and to cause them to live longer - the Ring Wraiths , far from fearing Frodo when he slips on the Ring on Weathertop actually mock him.

And as it apparently takes quite a while to corrupt the bearer , could Gandalf not have wielded the Ring against Saruman and Sauron , vanquishing both , and then destroying the Ring in the Cracks Of Doom before he fell under it's dominion? -

Or would Gandalf immeadiatley have become corrupted and evil the moment he wore the Ring? Certainly he appeared to fear even it's touch

Perhaps the only person , excepting Bombadil , who would have remained unchanged , is Aragorn

[devilsgrin]

what always seemed to be the reason the powerful didn't take the ring to use against Sauron is that the more powerful the being, the faster it would corrupt them... absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Is it Galadriel or Gandalf who says to Frodo when he asks about peering into the minds of others and controlling them, that he would have to become vastly more powerful. I'm Sure its Galadriel.

Gandalf, i always assumed, used his ring often, as a strength to help him in his journeys. But the elven rings were NOT created for war or dominion, but to preserve and support.

Aragorn, unchanged? No i think not. The Hearts of Men are easily corrupted. And Isildur fell VERY quickly to the ring. Aragorn might last longer, but he'd fall too. Like Galadriel, in place of a dark lord Middle Earth would have a King, not dark, but handsome and terrible. All would love him an despair. Although, Aragorn was not a powerful individual anyway from all sources.

Certainly though, at the time of the War of the Ring, if the One Ring had come into Galadriel's hands, the Middle Earth would have suffered more than it ever did under Sauron, or could have under Saruman. Her innate gifts of perception, would have made her know all, see all and destroy all. She is at the time of the War, the most powerful of the Elves and its never clear whether that means she's stronger than either gandalf or saruman (when either was white).

[paranoid marvin]

Originally Posted by devilsgrin

what always seemed to be the reason the powerful didn't take the ring to use against Sauron is that the more powerful the being, the faster it would corrupt them... absolute power corrupts absolutely.
Is it Galadriel or Gandalf who says to Frodo when he asks about peering into the minds of others and controlling them, that he would have to become vastly more powerful. I'm Sure its Galadriel.

Gandalf, i always assumed, used his ring often, as a strength to help him in his journeys. But the elven rings were NOT created for war or dominion, but to preserve and support.

Aragorn, unchanged? No i think not. The Hearts of Men are easily corrupted. And Isildur fell VERY quickly to the ring. Aragorn might last longer, but he'd fall too. Like Galadriel, in place of a dark lord Middle Earth would have a King, not dark, but handsome and terrible. All would love him an despair. Although, Aragorn was not a powerful individual anyway from all sources.

Certainly though, at the time of the War of the Ring, if the One Ring had come into Galadriel's hands, the Middle Earth would have suffered more than it ever did under Sauron, or could have under Saruman. Her innate gifts of perception, would have made her know all, see all and destroy all. She is at the time of the War, the most powerful of the Elves and its never clear whether that means she's stronger than either gandalf or saruman (when either was white).

I wouldn't be so sure - he is , after all , the only one able to control the Palantir , and is able to grasp control even from the Dark Lord himself - something that even Gandalf feared to do; and we saw what happened to the minds of both Denethor (one of the strongest willed humans) and Saruman (at one time the wisest of the wise, and far more powerful than Gandalf until his 'regeneration'). Regarding Gandalf's ring - there seems to be no reference of his use of it in the text . In fact it would be quite interesting to know how he attained a ring given to the Elf-Lords.I would imagine that it would have offensive powers , otherwise it would not have been so attractive to the humans , or perhaps even the dwarves

[Firefly]

Originally Posted by paranoid marvin

It was certainly the most well-rounded of the characters

Lol that so lame...nice one .

[Lirael]

In regards to the film...

While I fancied Legolas, I would have to say Pipin.

He was very humerous to watch and had a good number of comical lines, all of them well acted. His clear naivity to the world made him seem rather rediculous, yet brave at the same time. I'll never forget the classic:
"You will be known as the Fellowship of the Ring!"
Pippin: "Great!...Where are we going?!"

Mind you, Aragorn was rather sexy... Naaah. Many people say that but he doesn't catch my eye. I can't deny that he's good looking, though.

[Majimaune]

Yes Pippin played a perfect hobbit by not knowing anything about the outside world of the "big folk"

[Gothic_Angelica]

can I pick more than one?

Gandalf is the best so far, then aragorn, boromir, legolas, samwise, meriadoc, perigrin, Gimli and then Frodo (in that order too)

I just love the things Gandalf says in the film and in the books

[Majimaune]

I agree that Elijah Wood is a bad actor, he was only 17 when they started filming though (one year older then me)

[Firefly]

Originally Posted by Majimaune

I agree that Elijah Wood is a bad actor, he was only 17 when they started filming though (one year older then me)

Little cruel don't you think, I felt he played a good part as Frodo.

[Mary Hoffman]

The subject seems to have changed from who was the best member of the Fellowship.

In the films I loved Aragorn (though Viggo Mortenson was not my idea of the Aragorn of the books at all and nor would the utterly delicious Stuart Townsend have been either) and Legolas, even though I had never seen him as a blond and Orklando has been such a disappointment since. Pippin and Merry drove me ABSOLUTELY mad. i agree with whoever it was who posted up all though changes Jackson had made and said it was a shame he had played up their "humour" at the expense of their courage etc. He made me want to slap them.

But having said that, one of the most moving sequences in the films was Pippin singing (the actor wriote the soing) his lament while Denethor ate his grisly meal and Farmair rode to near death at Osgiliath (also an invented scene). So you see they could have been more as in the book without any loss.

My favourite non-Fellowship characters were Elrond (go Hugo Weaving - love the hairstyle and ears), Faramir (what a shame you get the two brothers scene only on the extended DVD) and Theoden (always known now as Theoden King in our household - how Tolkien loved those inversions!). I mean after the salvation by Gandalf and i loved the Forth Eorlingas! spoeech and Death! Death! Death! even if not in the books. Oh and Eowyn was wonderful.

The ones I hated most were Arwen (good joke about the horselips though) and Galadriel (Viggo had a VERY rude name for Cate Blanchett during filming apparently, which is how we refer to her now - think of a four letter word preceded by Her and followed by "-liness"). Frodo was quite annoying because of lack of variety.

have I gone too off topic? I think these films inspire strong emotions. I wish Peterr Jackson would turn my books into films!

Mary

[paranoid marvin]

Personally I thought that of all the Fellowship , Tolkein would have considered Pippin and Merry's roles to have been the closest to his vision
Gandalf describes them as hobbits who "will sit on the edge of ruin and discuss the pleasures of the table, or the small doings of their fathers....to the ninth degree"

Jackson concentrating on their lighter side , only helps to emphasise the sorrow they must endure later in the novel. To show them as anything other than comical characters would , in my opinion , have been a mistake

[Majimaune]

Originally Posted by Mary Hoffman

But having said that, one of the most moving sequences in the films was Pippin singing (the actor wriote the soing) his lament while Denethor ate his grisly meal and Farmair rode to near death at Osgiliath (also an invented scene). So you see they could have been more as in the book without any loss.

That is one of my favourite scenes in the whole trilogy. I just love the song and everything that is happening.

Originally Posted by Mary Hoffman

My favourite non-Fellowship characters were Elrond (go Hugo Weaving - love the hairstyle and ears), Faramir (what a shame you get the two brothers scene only on the extended DVD)

I wasn't much for Elrond, every time Weaving comes on screen when I'm watching it I just go "Mister Anderson" and that just ruins it for me. Faramir (David Wenham, great Aussie) it undoubtedly one of the best in the films, also one of my favourites in the books. If that brother scene had been in the unextended edition then the movie would have been so much better because that is also one of my favourite scenes in the trilogy.

[fingy773]

i voted for pippen because he was the coolest and funnyest

[Majimaune]

Aye thats the right way to go.